'Worst twerk fail ever' video was a Jimmy Kimmel hoax

WFTS Staff

10:16 AM, Sep 10, 2013

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HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - Jimmy Kimmel revealed on his ABC show Monday night that he was behind a video that had been viewed more than 9.3 million times on YouTube. The video shows a woman twerking and falling into a candle, catching fire.

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From ABC:

Have you seen the video where the girl twerking alone in her apartment inadvertently sets herself on fire? Chances are you have, as it's been viewed more than 9.3 million times on YouTube since it was posted Tuesday and has been picked up by numerous news outlets. Turns out, it was all a hoax, orchestrated by none other than Jimmy Kimmel.

ABC's late-night host revealed on his show Monday night that he and his team were behind the video, which stars stuntwoman Daphne Avalon. He said the video was posted with no promotion on social media or anywhere else and still managed to rack up the huge amount of views in less than a week.

Avalon also appeared on Monday's Jimmy Kimmel Live, where she that admitted some people who know her -- including a high school boyfriend -- thought the video was real.

Added Kimmel, "Even though the video was fake, that did not stop hundreds of news outlets from showing it. Some people even blamed Miley Cyrus, as if this was her fault. Kimmel then aired a montage of clips from shows that reported on the video as if it were real, including ABC's own The View, CBS' The Talk and MSNBC.(Fellow late-night host Jimmy Fallon also showed the video on his rival NBC talker, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, on Friday night.)

The host also told Avalon: "Thank you for helping us deceive the world and hopefully put an end to twerking forever."